


Here I Stand; Here I Stay

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Drama, Episode Related, Humor, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-01
Updated: 2006-04-01
Packaged: 2019-02-02 02:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12717669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Set after Maternal Instinct, Jack wants to know if Daniel is going to quit again.





	Here I Stand; Here I Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

Jack walked back into the locker room from the showers, one towel wrapped around his waist while he used another to scrub his hair dry. He frowned when he saw Daniel was still sitting in the same position Jack had left him in when he'd gone to shower. 

"You all right Daniel?" 

Daniel appeared to snap out of whatever daze he was in and looked up at Jack. "Sorry, what?" 

Jack snorted lightly, walking over and sitting beside Daniel on the bench. "Just tell me now, are you going to quit again?" 

"What?" Daniel continued to stare at him. 

Jack tossed his extra towel over his shoulder. "You found Sha're's son Daniel. And all right we don't have him, but we know where he...well, who he's with." 

"So you think I'm going to quit again now?" Daniel raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Afraid of having Rothman back again Jack?" 

"No. Well...yes. But that's not why I'm asking." Jack kept glancing at Daniel and then away again while he spoke. Daniel frowned at him. Jack sighed. "Daniel, you know we work well together, the four of us. We're a team...more than a team." 

"Are we?" Daniel asked, in a truly inquisitive tone of voice. 

Jack blinked in surprise for a moment. "Aren't we?" 

Daniel clasped his hands together in between his knees and focused his eyes on them. "A lot has changed, Jack." 

"Some things don't change." 

Daniel laughed softly and ran a hand through his hair. "So many times I've thought I had it all sorted. That I knew where I stood, only to have the truth slap me in the face again and again. Some things don't change? I don't know if things change or not, but my perception of them certainly does." 

"I have no idea what you just said," Jack stated after a silent minute. 

"I know you don't." 

"Hey, give me a break here Daniel. What truths are you talking about exactly?" 

Daniel finally looked across at Jack again. "How about, not being such an integral part to SG1 as I once thought I was."

"What? What!" Jack stood up and paced, outraged. "Where the hell is this coming from?"

"For three months, Jack, for three whole months you were stuck on Edora. Every day of those three months I worked on finding some way to get you back home. And then when I think you're back for good you go on that whole Maybourne undercover scam, quitting SG1 and throwing our friendship back in my face-."

"Hey!" 

"No, just listen Jack," Daniel cut him off, standing up to face him. "I watched you leave for Edora, wondering if I was ever going to see you again and whether or not that even mattered at all to you. You think because you did it for the greater good, apologising just wipes it all away?"

Jack's expression sobered. "I didn't think you cared that much Daniel. Afterwards you said you only came to see me in the first place because you'd all drawn straws and you'd lost." 

"That just proves my point!" Daniel gestured vehemently in the air, "Neither of us has a clue where we stand with each other. It's a miracle we've managed to work together at all!" 

"Hey, when did this come down to you and me?" Jack asked, waving a hand between them. "I thought we were talking about the team here." 

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and just looked back at Jack silently. "Do you remember back on Sokar's Hell, when we were forced to take the hallucinogenic drug?" 

"Kind of a hard thing to forget." 

"You told me when we got home that you'd seen Charlie in your hallucination. Sam saw Jakob. Martouf saw Jolinar. I know I never said who I saw, but can you guess Jack?"

"Uh, Sha're?" Jack's expression conveyed his confusion. 

Daniel laughed, but it was a bitter laugh without any true humour. He turned away, arms still crossed tightly over his chest. "No. I saw you." 

"Oh." Jack frowned, trying hard to process what Daniel was saying. 

Daniel's chin dropped towards his chest and he focused his eyes once again on the floor. Jack took a tentative step towards him. "Daniel, you know how dense I am when it comes to these things, but...I think I know what you're saying." 

"Do you?" Daniel's voice was emotionless as he continued staring at the floor. 

"You don't know where you stand with me because I...keep sending mixed messages. When you quit I let you go, I didn't know what to say. Or maybe I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say. Either way I let you walk away and ended up taking out my frustration out on Rothman." 

Daniel turned his head to look at Jack, chewing on the inside of his lower lip. "Can you say it now?" 

Jack swallowed, thinking fast. If he didn't get it right this time, did it mean Daniel would leave again? For good? Was what he had in mind really what Daniel wanted to hear? How much did it mean to Daniel? The difference between staying and quitting again? Jack guessed there was only one way to find out. "I think so." 

Taking a deep breath Jack reached out to grip Daniel's shoulder, turning the other man to face him. Daniel let him, but his expression was wary. Jack raised both hands and held them on either side of Daniel's jaw, framing his face and capturing Daniel's eyes with his own. "Daniel, I don't want you to leave." 

At first Daniel revealed no reaction and Jack wondered if he'd said the wrong thing after all, but after a moment a small smile slowly spread across Daniel's face. "Thank you Jack." 

Jack smiled back, dropping his hands down to Daniel's shoulders. "So, this means you are staying right?" 

"Yes, I'm staying," Daniel replied, his smile widening. Jack grinned and suddenly crushed Daniel to him, practically squeezing the breath right out of his lungs. Daniel just laughed though and returned the hug. A minute passed before Daniel noticed something that had so far escaped his attention. "Um, Jack?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You're not dressed...." 

"Does this mean I have to let go of you?" Jack asked, unmoved. "Because I'm kinda enjoying this heart-to-heart afterglow here." 

Both Daniel's eyebrows raised, "Heart-to-heart afterglow?" 

"Sure, why not?" 

Daniel snorted slightly, but didn't say anything more. He rested his chin on Jack's shoulder and relaxed, waiting for Jack to let him go. "Um, Daniel?" 

"Mm?" 

"There's something else I should probably tell you," Jack said, pulling away so he could see Daniel's face again. 

"Oh?" 

"I just may have, I repeat, may have, used up the last of the hot water." 

The End.


End file.
